A Shift in Space
by Lindt Luirae
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was forced to watch every single friend he's ever cared about die except for one. Together, they will fix this. Together they'll rewrite fate. TIME TRAVEL. [New publish date: 30th. August] - ABANDONED
1. Starting Over

Before you read on, please be warned this story:

A) is vastly different from the previous three chapters I had posted, so if you decide to stop reading, I understand.

B) will have slow updates as I'm busy with uni

C) is so far unbeta'd (if you wish to offer your services, PM me and I shall consider it).

 **Bold speech is Kurama talking**

 _Italics is Naruto's internal thoughts_

That said, please enjoy the first instalment of _A Shift in Space..._

* * *

 **1\. Starting Over**

The smell of smoke and charred wood was thick in the air, hanging like a physical weight over his battered body, surrounding him from all sides. His lungs struggled to fill up with air and every attempt sent waves of agony through him.

Next to him, the body of his best friend—or maybe a more accurate description would be his only _alive_ friend—shivered violently. A rough coughing sound cut through the ringing in his ears and Naruto just managed to turn his neck in Shikamaru's direction to watch the Nara sputter blood onto the ground.

Shikamaru collapsed forward and spat out more blood, his arm clutching at the gaping hole in his stomach.

 _Right_ , Naruto thought almost detachedly, Shikamaru, too, was dying. Soon enough, it'd be just him left in this bloody battlefield.

"I wonder," the blonde rasped, even when he was uncertain if Shikamaru could even comprehend speech at this point, "was it worth it?"

Shikamaru heaved his body back up and leaned against the rock Naruto rested on, wiping at the blood seeping from his mouth, "winning?"

Naruto nodded, eyes surveying the land. Bodies lay everywhere in various states of death; face-first in the dirt, hanging limply from a tree branch, in numerous pierces by the crimson lake.

Shikamaru snorted through his nose. "Fuck no," the Nara spat, and then winced, once again moving to press on his wound in a valiant attempt to stifle the bleeding.

The blond looked around wordlessly, searching for the body of a certain rosette he held close to his heart. Ah, there it was. He hadn't the energy to even remove the sword from her chest cavity.

Shikamaru's rasping coughs interrupted his musings again and he scowled; well, he tried to, but he was too drained to put too much effort into it. "Don't you dare leave before me, Shikamaru." He said in the most threatening voice he could muster but to his dismay, he sounded desperate and broken at best.

A hand grasped his arm and squeezed, causing him to turn to look at Shikamaru again. The Nara's eyes were dispassionate—lifeless—as they gazed into his cerulean orbs. "I don't..." the strategist trailed off, shook his head and tried again, a flicker of something so sad it made Naruto ache to look at flashed in his eyes, "I'm... I don't want to."

Something inside Naruto —whatever remained of his heart, probably— finally completely shattered, so violently he choked for a few seconds. The truth came rushing into him with enough strength he feared he might burst. Shikamaru was dying. Really dying. Soon enough, Naruto would be all alone amidst the hell that was his reality.

Anxiety like nothing he'd ever known before rattled his body and he quickly turned away just in time to vomit whatever was left in his stomach onto the ground. He wiped at his mouth, wincing at how pathetic he must look and turned back to his friend, face grim, "I'm sorry."

Shikamaru's mouth twitched up at the corner —a sad shadow of his old smile— and the Nara looked up at the grey skies. "I don't suppose I ever thanked you."

"What for?" The blond laid back against the rock again, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the Nara, his resistance slowly bleeding out of him alongside his life force. It was now only a matter of time before his death.

"For never giving up on us, I suppose." The Nara muttered and wiped at his eyes with the back of his bloodied sleeve, "you're a good friend, Naruto. It was a... a pleasure knowing you."

Naruto's eyes burned but he blamed that on the smoke. "Don't you say your goodbyes," He warned but it came out as a pathetic plead.

"You and I both know I won't be here much longer."

Yes, indeed. They both knew. But Naruto didn't want to be reminded. Just this once, he wanted to be ignorant. Just this once. "I'll be joining you soon after."

Shikamaru snorted but it sounded more like a choked sob, "I'm a good enough man to hope you do. But selfish enough to wish... to wish you make it out somehow."

Agony, fierce like the claws of a monster and burning hot like the sun itself festered inside his chest that for a few coalescing second his loudest thought was: _make it stop, please, please, it hurts, it hurts..._ "And then what, Shika?" The blond whispered, turning cerulean eyes back to the bodies on the ground, "Konoha is gone. Everyone's gone."

Someone was wailing loudly in the distance, the sound grating, blood curdling and right down scarring in its sincerity. He supposed they couldn't be blamed, if he had the energy, he too, would be wailing. He was sure that with the amount of sorrowpainhurtanger he had locked in his soul, he could go crying for weeks, if not months.

Shikamaru chose not to reply, settling instead on collapsing against Naruto's shoulder, his strength giving out. He made a small sound of ironic amusement. "Remember when we thought the chunnin exams were hard?"

Naruto snorted, cherished old memories flashing in his mind's eye, as good as they are painful. "Good old days."

"And all we had to worry about was that snake bastard." Shikamaru sighed wistfully. "Wish we could go back."

Naruto nodded even though the Nara couldn't see it. "Things would've been different."

Shikamaru grunted.

They fell into a silence as heavy as the atmosphere. Again, distant cries of anguish and despair filled the air, settling like a heavy block of cement in his gut. Those who still lived either suffered grievous injuries that would soon enough send them to their death or end their ninja career. The few of them were just realising their victory was in fact, the biggest loss they'd ever sustained.

He had the urge to crawl over to Madara's motionless body and deal it some more damage. Tear him apart limb by bloody limb until he was nothing but a pile of trash. But that would be useless. The man was probably dead, or on his way there. The urge persisted, anyway, like a dull throbbing in his fist. He ached to put him in a similar hell to the one he was living.

When that monster marched straight into their home in a one man army, Naruto never imagined their home would be reduced to nothing but ashes. It really should have been impossible to be so strong but Madara was immortal and he didn't hurt or die. Not the same could be said about Tsunade, Kakashi, Sakura and the rest of team Seven who went down fighting till their last breath.

It wouldn't have made him so sick if civilians — _children_ — were spared. As ninja, they all accepted death will find them in the most gruesome ways sometime during the length of their career and they all vowed to die protecting their home— their people. Those people who now lay in pieces, adults and babies alike.

Naruto had no excuse, he should have known in their world nothing was impossible. He should have foreseen a war from a supposedly dead ninja who was a legend in his time. He should have known that the moment Orochimaru found out someone achieved immortality, he'll come barging in to steal the body of his best friend and brother. What could Sasuke do? Too busy trying to keep Kakashi alive he forgot to watch his own side and Orochimaru jumped at the opening with his poisonous canines, tearing at his flesh as the Uchiha collapsed in a screaming pile of agony.

Naruto blocked the memories. They were too painful to dissect. No matter how fast paced the fight was, and the state of half blindness Naruto was in due to the tears clouding his eyes, the memories were vividly burned into his brain to remain there forever.

He became gradually aware of Shikamaru's still body and stiffened, "Shika?"

No reply came.

Fear gripped painfully at his heart, and he strained to catch the faint throbbing of his friend's heartbeat. "Shikamaru." He pleaded softly, reaching to shake the Nara.

His eyes began burning once more, "Shikamaru. Get up."

He choked on a sob. It was happening, his last friend was slipping away. One more person he failed to protect.

Now the tears came gushing out of his eyes in a stream, like a waterfall. He couldn't even remember the last time he cried, all he knew was that it had been at least a lifetime ago. War was neither the right place nor the right time to grieve. And now that the tears were free, they refused to abate. He barely recognised the ugly, agonised wailing that filled the silence as his own until his throat burned with blood.

Something like death squeezed him, for it could only be that as he felt every ugly emotion in the world at once, choking him. They were gone, all of them. He was now truly and fully alone for the first time since his genin days.

 **Kit.**

They would never have dinner together again. He would never hear the sound of their laughter or the exasperated fond amusement they directed at him whenever he was being especially lame.

 **Kit.**

And now that they're gone, the world would be black and grey once again. No one would smile at him, greet him or check up on him. No one would fill his lonely existence. No one would share his heavy burden with him. No one—

 **Goddammit you pathetic piece of human flesh, good for nothing sorry excuse of a ninja!**

Naruto startled at the bellowing growl of his prisoner. _K-kurama?_

 **It listens!** The beast gasped mockingly. **Yes, Kurama you idiot. Listen up.**

 _What do you want?_ Naruto thought tiredly. He just wanted to be left alone to grieve.

 **Pathetic.** Kurama scoffed again. **So fast to give up.**

An irrational wave of anger assaulted Naruto and he growled, a sound fierce and grating and ugly in it's anger: _So fast? So fast? Fuck you! My whole family is dead! My home is gone! My teachers, my friends, my wife! So fast?! I have nothing left but their scattered ashes and you have the audacity—_

 **Kit, shut up—**

 _Don't you tell me to shut up! All my life I've slaved away for a shred of acknowledgement— a-and then t-this— this damned world plays this sick twisted game on me! Because I haven't suffered enough already Kurama. I'm granted everything I ever wanted only to have it ripped away from me! Torn to shreds right before my eyes! So fast?! I've died a thousand deaths already and you know that!_

Kurama was silent for a few long minutes, endless in their tension. Finally, the beast said, rather quietly, **So you're just giving up?**

 _Is there another choice?_ Naruto cried out in his head, hurt, agitated and plenty done with living.

The reply he received wasn't the one he expected: **there might be.**

 _What are you talking about?_ Naruto exasperated, the headache behind his eyelids intensifying. If Kurama would just stop talking to him so he could close his eyes and pass on to the next life, wherever that was, he'd really appreciate it.

 **It's… well, I'll be honest with you. I have never done this before.** Kurama huffed in his mind scape, stretching his battered limbs. **But I refuse to lie around like a wounded horse waiting to die.**

For a few long moments Naruto's mind was a swirl of confusions.

 **This'll hurt.** Warned the demon.

 _Um, Kurama, what the hell are you—_

 **A lot** _._

Something hot began fizzling inside his numb mind, stopping his thoughts short. Naruto could only stare in confusion at his lap until the temperature of his blood reached uncomfortable heights and he found himself squirming restlessly. _Kurama—_

 **Shut up, I need to focus!** Growled a pained voice, immediately silencing him.

The torn skin of his stomach suddenly began knitting itself back together in the most agonising way. Naruto startled, just barely muffling a scream. His frustration with his body healing when he really had no intentions of living lay forgotten as agony overwhelmed his senses and flooded his nervous system.

He lost the fight, collapsing forward, an anguished cry tearing his throat raw. Something blue surrounded his vision and a quiet hum of energy engulfed him but that only furthered his pain as the chakra in the air seemed to scald him from the outside too.

The blond writhed as the molten lava in his veins continued traveling to his toes and he was left hurting like nothing he'd ever felt before.

If possible, it got even worse. He felt as if his cells were disintegrating to nothing and his delirious mind barely registered someone else's distant cry. And then he felt his conscious burst into dust.

* * *

He landed hard— solid ground meeting his back with shocking force and he wheezed.

"Sasuke-kun!" A feminine voice squealed and Naruto hurriedly scrambled back from the foreign grip on his collar, hard-earned survival instincts kicking in, directing him to kick blindly at his captor, his vision blurry and incomprehensible.

His foot met something solid and, _"Dammit usuratonkachi!"_ A pained yelp resounded and—

In his delirious half-state of mind, he registered that only one person's ever called him that. And that that person was as dead as a person could be. So why was this asshole calling him that? Only Sasuke was allowed to call him that—goddammit, did they not realise how much it hurt to be reminded of his lost brother?!

"Sasuke back down!" Another far away voice barked, one that resembled… the blond's mind came to a screeching halt and _what the fuck, is that Kakashi sensei? No way._

Something firm yet gentle grasped his shoulder and he might've kicked them six ways to Sunday if it weren't for his uncooperative limbs and the startlingly familiar cackling chakra this stranger possessed and— no, of course it wasn't a stranger because this chakra could only belong to Kakashi sensei and oh, he must be dead. He must be.

"Naruto?" The same familiar voice called and slowly, like a haze, the thick blanket cloaking his mind slowly began to lift and he became gradually aware of the lingering smell of sweat and dew in the air.

His eyes cleared for him to briefly see a flash of silver hair before he squeezed them shut again because this had to be a dream and seeing Kakashi's face was the last thing he needed. It might just tear him apart.

"Naruto, can you hear me?" Fingers caressed the side of his head carefully and he flinched away from the touch. Whoever it was, took that as a sign of pain. "Hey, open your eyes."

 _Don't you dare, don't you dare open your eyes Naruto, don't—_

He forced his lids up despite knowing better to be met by the familiar gaze of the Copy Ninja Kakashi. He held his breath.

No. fucking. way.

Right above him, and surrounding him from three sides were Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake… just ten or so years younger.

 _Kurama! Kurama you piece of shit!_ Naruto cried furiously in his head, _dispel this genjutsu right this instant! We're under attack! Ku-ra-ma!_

 **Kit, settle down!** Kurama growled menacingly. **Would you stop fugitively running like a headless chicken?**

 _What's going on?!_

 **I sent us into the past—**

 _What?!_

 **—and it worked.**

 _Kurama what the hell?!_ The blond was well on his way to a full-blown panic attack. _Time travel?! You couldn't clue me in before?! Besides the fact that it's impossible I could've at least mentally prepared!_

Kurama snorted. **Pathetic, you human lot, all of you. I don't even know why I bother.**

"Naruto?" Sakura's timid voice effectively interrupted his inner debate. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

 _Three._ His mind quipped unhelpfully.

"I…" His dry throat struggled for a while to produce a sound as his shell-shocked brain scrambled for solutions and answers to this new impossible reality unfolding right before his eyes. "I think I've lost my mind."

Kurama scoffed in his mind scape but otherwise remained silent.

Sasuke —or this mini version of him anyway— snorted, hand cradling his bleeding arm. "I believe this round goes to me."

 _This round…?_ His eyes scanned the grassy clearing, noting various weapons impeded in the ground and tree barks. Three wooden posts sat a distance away and another memory floated at the edge of his conscious. _Right, training ground three._

Cerulean eyes once again sought out a pair of charcoal ones regarding him warily. He needed to get away before he did something incredibly stupid.

Judging by his surroundings, he was training with team Seven in this reality. And he just lost a spar to Sasuke— "I... gonna go back home. Don't feel well."

"You do look a little green." Sasuke agreed with a little smirk, "wound you too badly? Tsk."

"Right, ha ha," Naruto grimaced as he got up, "I'll uh, see you."

And then he hopped away from there as fast as his twelve year old body was able to carry him.

* * *

Sometimes during his trip to his old apartment, a violent bout of nausea nearly knocked him off his feet and he scrambled to the closest ally before emptying his stomach's content. He sat crouched over a puddle of puke for hours, dry heaving, his body shivering violently and sweat trickling down his back, drenching his shirt. Naruto moaned— his whole body hurt all of a sudden. The ache in his stomach was nothing compared to the one brewing his head. He wouldn't be too surprised if it exploded.

 _Should I be this sick?_ He asked Kurama, only because he was seriously beginning to worry he was going to kill himself from all the puking he had done.

 **I'm not sure. I'm guessing this is the effects of your older conscious replacing your younger one. I did anticipate side effects. Also...** Kurama trailed off, and added, almost sheepishly, **there's been a minor... disturbance.**

 _What?_ Naruto asked, a little scared. This world was too good to be real and he was still partly convinced it's an illusion. But he didn't want anything to ruin it either way.

 **It appears someone travelled back with us. Your friend wasn't dead after all. His soul got caught in my vortex.** Kurama informed and Naruto stopped breathing. His friend... he couldn't mean...

Naruto was on his feet in an instant— a stupid move really, seeing as his body was barely capable of basic human functions. It was no surprise when he swayed lightly on the spot and nearly collapsed, but thankfully his grip found purchase in the wall, saving him from a probable concussion. He had to find out for himself, he had to check, he had to—

"Look, it's the demon brat!" A shrill voice laughed, interrupting his thoughts.

Fast paced footsteps echoed as multiple people approached him and he clumsily whirled around just in time to block the leg aimed for his face. Still functioning off survival instincts, he kicked at his attackers supporting knee, knocking him off his feet. He heard a pop but didn't stop, his fist already colliding with the man's face, breaking his nose.

The brown haired man cried out in alarm and pain and Naruto heard more voices and footsteps approaching but his vision was beginning to blur and cloud over and he could barely stay upright.

Two figures hurtled towards him, calling him the ugliest of names, fists ready. Naruto pushed against the fatigue, survival instinct still going strong, and bought two hands up catching the mens' fists and freezing their attacks in place. "Stay. Away. From. Me!" He growled, irritated, tired and pained. He tugged each man in the opposite side, sending them crashing into the brick walls of the ally.

"You bastard!" A fourth man cried but at this point, Naruto could no longer make out faces, just distorted images of bodies rushing towards him, three of them coming from all sides.

There was no way he could defend against all of them in his condition but he had to try. He didn't imagine they'd be too averse to murdering him at this point in time. He had faced this treatment more times than he could remember in his childhood and it occurred to him if this was really the past, he'd be enduring it all over again.

Something sharp sliced deeply into his shoulder blade and he grunted in pain as he fended off one of the men, sending him crashing into one of the dumpsters. His vision blackened momentarily and then, a piercing pain exploded in his knee joint and he fell forward, his right leg buckling unhelpfully beneath him.

A shrill laugh echoed, "that's right demon brat! That's what you get you monster!"

A sharp kick found home in his gut and he stifled off a pained cry, curling up on himself to block off the following attacks. His faceless attacker growled unhappily, "scream you brat!" Another kick and this time Naruto wheezed, earning a sadistic laugh from one of the men.

The blond wondered if he should just lay there and hope they got bored soon seeing as his sight was useless and a sense of numbness was beginning to spread through him. He knew he was going to lose consciousness soon but the important question remained, would they let him be or continue beating him to death?

Suddenly, it stopped. It was almost disconcerting. One second there was pain and taunting calls, the next there was still and frigid air and no movement at all.

"What do you think you're doing?" A young voice spoke quietly, but it seemed to echo through the whole ally, cold and furious, dripping with venom.

The amount of killer intent that reached Naruto nearly made him wheeze but it was so familiar, he had to push past his initial reaction to curl into himself and listen carefully.

"Let us go!" One of the men demanded, voice angry but it wavered with the undertones of fear. Naruto imagined he was shaking if his voice was anything to go by.

"I said," the same voice growled, and now there was a healthy amount of steel injected into his tone, "what. Are. You. Doing?"

Naruto heard approaching near-silent footsteps and then the familiar chakra touched his senses. It was dark, heavy and quiet like a deep ocean in the middle of the night, filled with creatures so frightening, so dark, they were only found in the worst nightmares.

Naruto stopped breathing. "S-shikamaru?"

The usually soothing chakra of his best friend that gave a sense of safety was a thunderstorm now, roiling and cackling beneath skin. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he saw Shikamaru this angry. It was perhaps when Temari was killed during the beginning of the war.

"We're trying to get rid of the demon brat! He doesn't deserve to be—" the man giving the hateful speech screamed and choked, making Naruto wish he could see to know what the hell was happening.

"I could kill you." Shikamaru warned in that same dark voice. He sounded so much like his healthy adult self in that moment, Naruto was a little breathless. "Right this instant. I could squeeze your pathetic breath out of you."

Suddenly gasping was heard and then, like a prayer answered, Naruto's vision cleared a little. He saw one of the men on the ground gulping down air frantically, hands clutching his throat. Shikamaru's shadows were shrinking back to the small boy standing at the edge of the ally and one of the men was already scrambling away like death itself was tickling his heels. "Run away before I change my mind."

The second man didn't need to be told twice.

A smaller version of Shikamaru came into view and Naruto watched from his position on the ground as the Nara crouched next to him, features serious. A warm palm cupped the underside of his head and helped him up into a sitting position. "Seems like I made it in time," Shikamaru said, features hardening, "I thought I was going crazy when I saw you getting beaten up in an ally. But some instinct pushed me to come here. I'm glad I did."

"Huh?" Naruto said stupidly, watching incomprehensibly as the Nara nestled him against his chest and stood up with the blond in his arms.

"Come on, we'll talk when you're patched up— and you better explain what the hell is happening here." Was the Nara's only reply before a soft electric pulse shot through Naruto and his conscious flickered out like a dying candle.

* * *

Something soft, and incredibly gentle touched at the top of his head, elegant fingers stroking fluffy blond hair. It sent a certain wave of comfort through Naruto that chased away the last of his nightmares and allowed light to reach behind his eyelids.

He became gradually aware of his other senses; the soft breeze tickling his bare torso; the warm rays of sunshine on his skin; the quiet sound of a gushing tap in another room; the soft lulling sound of a fan... and then came the pain. He grunted, his hand immediately reaching for his aching shoulder only to be stopped half way.

"Don't do that," a feminine voice discouraged and Naruto wondered why his body wasn't reacting to a stranger's voice and creating some safe distance.

It became clear when he forced his eyes open to be met by the sight of a familiar woman, albeit much younger, without worry lines and greying hair ageing her up. She looked so different now he was surprised he forgot how beautiful she was before circumstance ripped her of her most important person just like it did his.

A small smile tugged on her face and she gently lowered his hand back down to his side, "I'm sorry, did I startle you? I didn't mean to. I'm Yoshino Nara, Shikamaru's mum."

Naruto managed a small nod, throat incredibly dry now that he realised in this world she didn't know him. In another life, this woman came to care for him like he was her own and became something of a mother figure to him. But now he was some stranger— one of her son's classmates, just another kid.

"He'll be back soon, he went to get some ramen. He said it was your favorite food. Are you and Shikamaru close? I didn't realise he had friends besides Chouji." Yoshino Nara rattled on with a thoughtful frown, her fingers resuming their mindless hair stroking, "I could've sworn nothing could get him off his butt if he didn't have to. He must really care about you."

Naruto blinked slowly, slightly lost. A small but now manageable headache still pulsed behind his eyelids and he wondered how bad his injuries were that Kurama's chakra hadn't healed them yet.

 **Kit, I just launched us fourteen years into the past,** Kurama's familiar growl echoed in his ears, resounding with disbelief. **I barely have any energy left to spare. I need to lay still and rest up for the real fights to come. You're on your own for now so don't get yourself killed.**

Right. Of course, what did Naruto expect?

"Would you like some water?" Yoshino mused, getting him to refocus his undivided attention on her. He needed some time, if just seconds, to collect himself so he nodded and watched her leave.

He immediately turned around to study his surroundings. He was laying on a comfortable green couch by a low wooden table. In his direct line of sight was a window letting in sunlight and in the corner sat a small TV. An ache formed in his chest; he knew this room, knew it like the back of his hand. How many hours had he and Shikamaru spent crouched over this same wooden table, hunched over scrolls, battle plans and occasionally, a shogi board?

How many times had they fought over who'd take the couch he was currently lying on and who'd take the bed?

The smell of tea permeating the air was the cherry on the top. If he'd squeeze his eyes shut for a few seconds, it'd be like old days, like how it was before the war started and destroyed everything he ever held dear to him.

Just as his eyes started stinging again, Shikamaru came into sight, a steaming cup of tea in one hand, and a cloth in the other. He set the tea on the table and crouched by Naruto's side, mouth pressed in a pensive line as he placed the drenched cloth on the blond's burning forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't get you earlier."

Naruto watched as the frown on his friend's face became even more pronounced, took notice in the way his fist curled tightly in his lap and the self-deprecating look in his brown orbs. The blond reached forward with tentative fingers, and flicked the Nara square between his eyebrows, not bothering to hide his disapproval. "None of that, Shika."

Shikamaru scowled, swatting Naruto's hand away, "You could've died."

"Yet, I'm alive." Naruto challenged, and was met by silence from his companion. _Good,_ he thought. And then they fell into a pensive quiet in which Shikamaru's mother returned with a glass of water and left just as quickly, claiming that he husband was nearly home and she was yet to finish cooking them a meal.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru finally asked, falling back with a quiet thud so that his back rested against the table. "We're young again."

"I didn't do anything." Naruto uttered with a touch of defensiveness in his tone, "It was Kurama. Didn't even bother to alert me."

 **Kit, we've been over this. I wasn't sure it'll even work.**

Naruto ignored the voice in his head as he rattled on, "One second I want to die, the next I'm healing and it feels like death... and then the world sort of disintegrated right before my eyes. And the only warning I got was that it's going to hurt— understatement of my existence, if you ask me."

 **Fine, be that way.** Kurama huffed.

Naruto expertly tuned the fox out. Once he was done feeling like he was stomped over by a thousand Chouji's, he'll consider talking to his prisoner, but not before then.

 **Partner, kit, we're partners.**

 _Oh my god, can I think for one second without interruption?!_

 **Jeez, you sound like your mother when it was her time of the month.**

 _Yes, that's exactly the kind of conversation I want to have right now._

 **It was always a pleasure to watch your father stumble over himself trying to appease her. Always managed to stick his foot in his mouth.**

 _You're trying to get on my good side by talking about my parents but I'm onto you._ Naruto huffed internally but struggled hard to suppress a smile.

"So, Kurama preformed time travel?"

Naruto tuned back on the outside world when Shikamaru's words interrupted his inner monologue. "I think so."

"And I got sucked into it?" The Nara said with slight exasperation colouring his tone.

"Pretty much." Naruto confirmed, and this his eyes darkened with something a little suffocating, "of course at the time... we thought you were dead."

A heavy, dull mood suddenly descended on the room and Naruto looked away, his blue eyes suspiciously luminous. Shikamaru sighed quietly and seconds later, Naruto felt the other boy's forehead press against his side in an uncharacteristically vulnerable moment, "Maybe I was... I don't know. I remember seeing Sakura's body and thinking... how much her death resembled Temari's..." the Nara seemed to choke on his words for a few seconds, in which he swallowed forcefully and ploughed on, "and I remember this ugly, vicious pain in my gut, and then it was gone."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt at blocking the recent memories. Shikamaru's dark chuckle made the hairs on his neck stand uncomfortably, "Imagine my surprise when I woke up to the sight of my mother cleaning my room."

Naruto sympathised with him by patting the Nara's head comfortingly, "What'd you do then?"

"Well, I thought I had gone to the afterlife," Shikamaru snorted and then sighed again, a bone-deep weariness resounding within the soft sound. It was almost painful to listen to it, for Naruto felt that same aching exhaustion deep in his very cells. "But then I see... I see you getting beaten up in that ally. It was so... so strange— like having a split vision. I don't know what possessed me into going there and checking."

The blond frowned at the strange phenomena his friend had just laid on him. "You 'saw' me." He deadpanned, eyebrows rising incredulously, "what do you mean you 'saw'?"

"Fuck if I know." Shikamaru grumbled, irritated with this new confusing reality that was so much like his childhood, but at the same time, so different. "It was like a kick to the ribs and the kind of instinctive nagging you feel in battle. Like a strange prickling at the back of my head in which I know there's a kunai coming for me in my blind spot."

Naruto's eyebrows had steadily climbed up his forehead during the Nara's explanation and were now threatening to disappear behind the cloth keeping his fever at bay. " _Weird._ "

"Nevertheless, I'm definitely fucking glad, Uzumaki." And Naruto felt a sharp pinch to his side, in which he retaliated by thumping the Nara on the head. "Only you could throw yourself back in time and nearly kick the bucket on the first day."

"Hey!" And Naruto moved to follow his indignant cry with another hit to the Nara's unprotected skull, but this time Shikamaru's hand shot out to grasp his wrist before the hit connected, not bothering to even raise his head, "It's not my fault some assholes decided it's the perfect time to gang up on the Nine Tails' container!"

Shikamaru's head shot up, and Naruto was rewarded by his darkest glare, one that usually made his enemies flee for cover, but the blond knew it wasn't directed at him, "Gods Naruto... if you only knew how hard it was to let them go... I wanted to kill them so badly..."

With the space sufficiently filled to the brink with Shikamaru's killing intent, Naruto had to thank whatever god was still watching over him for Shikaku's absence. Otherwise the clan head would have been racing here with explosive kunais, wondering who died.

It was always strange whenever he got a taste of the other man's darker intentions. For such a collected and laid-back man, Shikamaru surely had a sinister presence when he wanted to. Much like his shadows, the Nara's killing intent was dark, like deep black waters, silent with the promise of danger and chilling to the bone with the intensity of the soon to be delivered pain. The blond was sure as hell glad he was never at the receiving end of it. It reminded him a little of Zabuza's menacing presence and if he was a lesser man, his body might've seized up at the feel of it.

"As much as I appreciate your protectiveness," Naruto finally said, slowly, so that every syllable sunk in, "I don't want you to be charged for a crime like that... they are fellow Konoha shinobi, after all."

"Fellow Konoha shinobi my ass!" Shikamaru hissed, and it really was a strange sight to see a familiar frightening expression on such a young, different face, "We're heading for a world war and there are people of our own home attacking a citizen. Could definitely do without them."

Let it be said, war, and death had made Shikamaru ruthless. And in all honesty, Naruto couldn't blame him, for after all the death he had seen he too had become what others might call insensitive.

"So now what...? Do we want to let things play out the same or do we want to tweak things a bit?" Naruto deliberated their options, "I mean, I don't know about you but nothing short of tying me to a chair with chakra robes will prevent me from intervening."

His companion eyed him with a contemplative glint in his dark eyes and then, like a weight dropped, Shikamaru's shoulders slumped almost in defeat, "Of course we'll intervene, how could we not? Doesn't it make us trash if we let out comrades die a second time when we can prevent it?"

 _Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades... those are even worse than trash._ His sensei's words came rushing to the forefront of his mind with a bang of nostalgia and a sharp stinging in his chest. Oh yes, the words that he shall never forget for as long as there was life in his veins.

"So we change things." Naruto concluded in a sombre tone Shikamaru was now all too familiar with, especially after seven years of war, "I'm assuming we're twelve... and that it's before the chuunin exams seeing as Sasuke is still here..."

Shikamaru dragged a tired hand down his face and stood up to eye Naruto sternly; meeting his blue, blue gaze unflinchingly, "Alright before all that, you're on bed rest and you'll be getting some sleep before that overworked brain of yours starts forming plans— that's _my_ job— no, don't give me that face, sleep. I mean it. Don't make me knock you out again. You've earned a day of rest. As hard as it is to believe, the moon won't fall on our heads any time soon, we plan tomorrow, for today, let's rest okay?"

Naruto huffed, "Look at you, bossing your superior."

"Ah, ah," Shikamaru said, and there was a familiar mischievous streak in his eyes Naruto hadn't seen in forever, "your Hokage position is unofficial, technically you're still a Jounin therefore we're equals. Off to sleep."

"Hai, hai, _Kaa-san._ " Naruto sneered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Bastard."

"Love you too."

* * *

 **Word Count: 6,500 words**

 **A/N: while each of you is entitled to their own opinions and can freely express them in the review section, what I seek is criticism, not hate. English is not my first language, and no matter how much I improved I still feel lacking. Please be kind to me.**


	2. Shaky Steps

**2\. Shaky Steps**

When Naruto came to again, the forgotten tea cup by his side had gone cold and the sky outside was a vivid orange with brilliant strokes of purples, reds and yellows.

It took him a few seconds which included rapid eye blinking to recollect the events of the past few hours and when he did, he sat up with a start, a pained hiss escaping him as he jostled his injured knee.

The hushed murmurs of two people conversing could be heard from a nearby room alongside the distant sloshing of water from the bathroom upstairs. It was strangely calming to listen to it considering his position in this strange reality; when was the last time Naruto had the luxury of lying still in a safe place, surrounded by the warm presence of his loved ones?

Soft rustles of other people moving about and filling the silence caressed his ears, and the comforting scent of tea and food filled his nostrils managing to make the tension leave his body entirely for the first time in years.

Getting up on tentative feet, Naruto shuffled to the kitchen from which the delicious aroma wafted, only to pause in his tracks.

Yoshino, who was giggling quietly at something her husband said, moved to press a small kiss on the flustered man's lips before burying her face in his chest. "You're _so_ silly, dear."

Shikaku sighed in resignation but there was a small smile playing at the corner of his lips as he returned the woman's embrace.

Naruto stood frozen on the spot, unable to move even when he knew he was intruding on a private moment. How many times had he dreamt of a life like this, where he could share silly laughter with his partner, surrounded by the security of their shared home? How many times had he wished for a day where he could return to a family of his own?

What he got instead was a private ceremony four years into the war in which he married a beautiful woman with hair like the sun rays on a cool fall morning and eyes like a clear vast sky. Thinking back to it, had he not listened to her and instead insisted they wait until the war was over to get married she would have never been his wife as she had died only two years later, taking away the last of his happiness with her.

Shikaku's dark eyes turning in his direction broke him away from painful memories of soft creamy skin beneath his touch and the taste of raspberries on his lips. "Oh, you're finally awake."

Shikaku tried to conceal his surprise at not having sensed the blond, but Naruto saw it anyway and hurriedly stammered, discarding earlier pangs of jealousy in favour of saving the situation. "Uh— Forgive me, I didn't mean to, um, interrupt or anything."

Yoshino laughed, much to both men's surprise and moved out of her husband's hold to flutter towards Naruto, a grin on her face as she ruffled his hair. "Don't be silly! C'mon, food is on the table— Shikamaru, get down here and join your friend!"

A minute later saw a yawning Shikamaru easing his twelve-year-old body into the seat next to Naruto. "'Morning."

Naruto arched an incredulous eyebrow; it was nearly nightfall judging by the rapidly darkening skies outside, which he had a perfect view of from where he was sat. One thing the blond always adored about the clan head's home had been the glass wall framing one side of the dining room— a wall sized one-way window to Yoshino's small garden and the Nara forest lying beyond it that offered an unobscured view of the sky.

Shikaku, who was in the process of filling his plate with samples of the various dishes displayed on the table, turned his attention to Naruto. "I heard you got in trouble today, Uzumaki-san. How are you feeling?"

Naruto blinked, a little flabbergasted. He honestly couldn't remember the last time someone called him 'Uzumaki-san' instead of Naruto or even 'Namikaze-san' and, wow, did that make him feel nostalgic! And old… which was ironic, seeing as he was at the tender age of twelve again, not even at puberty's door yet. "Please call me Naruto... 'Uzumaki-san' sounds too professional. I'm fine now... thanks," Naruto hedged on after an uncertain pause. "I'm sorry for... intruding on your evening."

He sounded like a floundering baby chicken just hatched out of its egg and it was embarrassing, but talking to Shikaku —especially when one was trying to keep a secret— was a little like dancing over a mine field. You never knew when you might slip and make a mistake, and in that regard, and in this metaphor, it would literally be explosive. He had to tread carefully.

"Nonsense," Shikaku refuted but the contemplative glint in his eyes was worrying.

Another thing about Shikaku —and his son, gods, _especially_ his son— that Naruto hated so much was that you never knew what they were thinking. And he was sure nothing short of a mind-reading jutsu would make their complex thoughts clear.

"Itadakimasu," Naruto muttered, breaking eye-contact with the clan head before he went ahead and did something stupid, like ge his predicament away through his eyes. Stupid thought, but you could never be sure when Shikaku was concerned. _Smart people could really make you feel stupid, couldn't they?_

That aside, the de-aged boy sighed internally as he stuffed his mouth with Yoshino's delicious cooking, how does a twelve-year-old _act_? For the life of him, he couldn't remember. But could he be blamed? Countless battles, hardships, losses and a world war later, how was he suppose to retain the naive innocence of a genin— a child?

What he could remember —and it wasn't much, really— was his endless bragging, and even more endless preaching about becoming Hokage. Now, more than ten years later, it made him cringe. He had missed the entire point of being a ninja; he thought it was glorious, fun, that he was unstoppable. He found solace in not being useless, in having a place in the world. In protecting those who couldn't protect themselves, much like he had hoped someone would do for him when his own village turned against him and what he represented: a walking container of the most terrifying beast in existence.

But being a ninja wasn't just that. Being a ninja was lying, and killing in cold blood, and stealing, and manipulating and plundering in the name of peace. It was watching people die and having to walk away. It was sleepless nights and nightmarish realities filled with regret, pain and loss. It was kill or be killed.

"These are delicious," he said instead, if only to distract himself from the dark thoughts in his mind, from the flashing memories of the countless deaths he had seen. His eyes remained fixed on his dish, too afraid to look up. The setting was too familiar, in that awful, jolting kind of way. He feared he might see the ghost of his wife if he looked up at the vacant seat on Shikaku's left. "Really delicious. You're a great cook, Nara-san."

"None of that. Yoshino works just fine for me. And thank you, Naruto-kun."

He looked up long enough to catch the brief mock-glare she sent his way and couldn't resist the small smile that bloomed on his lips as he ducked his head in embarrassment.

He missed the tender smile on Shikaku's face and the almost gleeful glint in Shikamaru's. But either way, he decided he could get used to this again. This was his family. And if there was ever a person besides Sasuke that he could claim was his closest friend in the world, it was Shikamaru.

* * *

It was later when Naruto was preparing for bed in Shikamaru's room —having been convinced to spend the night— that his strange reality poked at his conscious again and hit him full force. The result was a quite eloquent and very sincere one worded comment: " _Shit._ "

His companion's head peeked out from beneath his pillow, one eye squeezed shut. "Hmm?"

"We're in the past," Naruto whispered, disbelievingly. " _What the fuck._ "

"Uh..." Was Shikamaru's intelligent reply, his shut eye fluttering open. "I thought we'd already kinda, sorta established that?"

"No, Shikamaru, I mean, we're literally _in_ the past," Naruto muttered vehemently.

He earned Shikamaru's blank stare for his efforts, a look that communicated 'troublesome' without having to speak it. "I _literally_ know... How hard did you hit your head again?"

"Oh, shut up," the blond grumbled, flicking his pillow at Shikamaru who groaned at the impact and buried his face in his pillow again, his hand rising to display a glaring middle finger in retaliation. Naruto ignored him, continuing to vent, "I'm just having a hard time grasping it."

"Clearly," drawled his best friend's lazy voice, muffled by the covers that were now thrown over his head. "Now if you'll excuse me, Imma pass out..."

"Lazy ass," huffed the blond.

"Good night, Naruto."

"Lazy ass," repeated the future Hokage.

"Zzzz," Shikamaru replied.

"Did you just...?"

"Hmm."

"You're insufferable."

"Hmmmmmm."

"Fine. Good night."

"Hm."

Naruto flung another pillow the infuriating Nara.

* * *

There was a certain aura of contentedness in waking up to the soft touch of the sun's tendrils seeping in from the crack of the curtain and splaying across his chest.

Naruto came from a world devoid of sunshine and light. He came from thunderstorms and skies clouded with the smoke of their wars. He came from the smell of death and burning wood, from the smell of toxic air.

This world was different, surreal. This world was warmth on his cheek and the smell of herbs in his nose. It was softness beneath his head and the quiet rustles of everyday life around him. It chased away the last of his nightmares, tugged him away from the images of the deaths he'd witnessed.

His heart hadn't stopped weeping in years, and he didn't believe it ever would, but at least his mind could be reassured for now.

It all came crashing down on him when Shikamaru's breath hitched in an all too familiar pattern and began accelerating, stuttering and pitching higher every passing second. The man-turned-boy twitched, his head twisted to the side and finally, before Naruto could wake him up from his own personal hell, his brown eyes snapped open.

And then, between that second and the next they were pooling with hot liquid and Shikamaru choked on a sob, the sound strangled and trembling, barely restrained. Naruto's heart twisted and he got up on tentative knees to approach his friend who, upon seeing him, covered his eyes with his arm and tried valiantly to swallow back the sounds of his grief.

While both were each other's closest friend and they sought comfort in the other's presence, they were battle-hardened shinobi who hated being vulnerable. And yet, Naruto could not leave his friend to suffer through it alone and so he sat on the edge of Shikamaru's bed and stared at the opposing wall.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

It took the other man long moments before he mustered up the ability to speak, swallowing thickly before he said, "I don't understand."

Naruto didn't prompt him to explain. He waited patiently, choosing instead to let him talk at his own pace.

"We're here. They're alive and yet..." Shikamaru made a small choked sound at the back of his throat, like someone was carving his heart out with a knife and stabbing as they went. He seemed unable to finish that sentence.

Naruto, having a fair idea of what he was talking about, finished for him. "The dreams still haunt you." It was a statement, not a question and Shikamaru seemed to deflate with his words.

Their teammates weren't the people they saw last. They were genin fresh out of the academy, still enveloped in a cocoon of naivety. Naruto would even go as far as to say they were innocent. Well, maybe with a select few exceptions, he thought with a bang of sadness as he recalled Sasuke's childhood, and his own, too.

They sat in solemn silence for a few minutes before Naruto said, "I think it'll take time. This world doesn't look or feel real just yet. The people we know are no longer here. What is here are the bare bones of the great shinobi they'll become. It's our job to guide them, to help them become the great friends we once knew."

Naruto finally looked at Shikamaru who was wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. The Nara croaked, "Yeah. I know."

He sat up slowly, like an old man weighed down by age and grief stuck in a small body and Naruto locked him in a one armed hug, pushing the Nara's face into his shoulder. "Let's make the best of this."

He didn't offer Shikamaru empty promises or comfort. Naruto now understood how little control he had over these. He could no more save someone from grief than he could save himself.

Once upon a time he swore no one would hurt his friends. And yet every single one of them except one lay in pieces in another not so far reality. Their future if they failed a second time. The thought, as terrifying as it was, spurred him with the need to take immediate action. And so he moved away from Shikamaru, mind already plotting various courses of actions that could be taken this soon. "Come on. We should probably get something to eat... and meet up with our teams."

Shikamaru let out a shaky breath, resigning himself to his fate. He'd have to see them sooner or later; and gods it would hurt like a knife in his gut, twisting mercilessly, to pretend that he had seen them yesterday, that they hadn't been dead for a few years at least.

Chouji had been the first to go after Asuma. His body was discovered beneath a boulder the size of the great gates surrounding Konoha. Overwhelmed by the forces attacking them, his chakra had run dry and his techniques failed him. He was buried beneath the rubble, written off as MIA until Kakashi's ninken discovered his body. And that wasn't until a week later.

Shikamaru was unfortunate enough to witness the image of his teammate's crushed body, bones mangled and bloody, twisted at impossible angles, covered with dust and mud. His right foot was severed at the ankle and Kakashi suspected that that was what killed him.

And Ino... Ino died two years ago, in the arms of his blond best friend as he wept and screamed his throat raw, the gaping hole in her stomach the size of a fist, right where her kidney had been.

He suppressed the images. He couldn't let his team see his inner turmoil no matter how violent it was to contain it. He had to compose himself.

Shikamaru and Naruto took turns washing up and getting ready, but not without quarrelling over who got the shower first. They settled it with a round of rock-paper-scissors, which Naruto won.

The blond stuck his tongue out as he skipped to the bathroom and received another middle finger in retaliation.

Naruto's laugh rang through the room.

* * *

"Alright," Naruto said, seizing the Nara's shoulders in a firm hold and patting them. "We get through today, and you treat me to ramen and I treat you to yakiniku. Deal?"

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at his friend's statement and he nodded grudgingly. "Alright, but I'm holding you to it."

"Hai, hai." Naruto grinned and forced his shoulder to relax. "We'll be okay."

"We will," Shikamaru agreed although he didn't fully believe it, but a part of him was insistent that if he kept the positive attitude and carried on telling himself they would be okay, it would eventually become true.

And then they parted ways, Naruto heading to training ground Three and Shikamaru to Five. The blond was comforted by the fact that Shikamaru wasn't too far away were something to happen, however unlikely.

When Naruto arrived at the familiar clearing that held three posts, he found Sakura already there leaning against a tree, her soft humming barely audible. He paused at the tree line, taking a few moments to calm the rush of emotions in his chest, holding roughly onto the tree bark as he tried to suppress the horrific memories—

Blood, lots and lots of blood, pouring from her chest wound, from her mouth, from her missing arm. Dull green eyes flickering, unfocused, as they gazed up at him. Her mouth parting to choke out his name, a broken, lifeless whisper; the last thing she ever said, condemning him to a miserable existence where he relived that moment over and over again. The touch of her cold fingers on his cheek before it dropped lifelessly, and then she was gone forever, taking with her their memories, her wisdom, her short temper that kept him in check, her—

The bark splintered beneath the rough treatment of his fingers and dented, cutting his skin. It was a very minimal pain, like the sudden poke of a needle, but it was enough to snap him out of it. Cerulean eyes studied the crimson drops leaking out of his fingertips blankly and watched them slowly disappear as his skin was stitched back together; it seemed Kurama was still capable of healing very minor injuries (if this could even be called one).

Absently wiping the blood against his pants, he jogged into the clearing before he allowed himself to consider what would follow, before he could chicken out, turn tail and run away like a coward. She wasn't his Sakura. This little, clueless, lost girl was just a newly-appointed genin who was unfortunate enough to be put on a team with three very messed up men: a bullied, shunned pariah too loud and mischievous for his own good, hiding away the pain behind foolishness; a damaged boy made orphan at eight after his entire clan was murdered by his precious older brother, his sole purpose being revenge; and a young man haunted by the ghosts of his past, struggling to move forward, forced to take on three lost children and turn them into soldiers.

She turned green, clear eyes his way, so innocent, so untainted, easily read even by him and his fingers started trembling. Naruto shoved them in his pockets to hide their minute restlessness and attempted a smile, although it fell a million years short of his usual bright grin. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan."

The rosette appeared confused but gave a slow measured nod. "Ohayo... Naruto."

Naruto realised his mistake soon after. He was always enthusiastic, loud and all over the place at this age. More often than not he shouted greetings, especially at Sakura. Now his voice stopped short of normal speech tone. Well, in his defence, he was afraid she'd hear the wobbliness in it if he raised it.

He settled a safe distance away from her, eyes taking in his surroundings to avoid looking at her for too long and triggering unwanted, scarring memories. He had to map out the area anyway; it was a habit one was forced to attain in the war, lest they found themselves facing some nasty surprises.

He reached out with his chakra, finding it infinitely easier to control now than when he was actually twelve. Whether that was because of his time travel journey or because Kurama was drained, he wasn't sure. Either way he prodded at his surroundings with cautious fingers, sensing a few nearby animals big enough to register without his sage mode, a group of genin racing across a nearby stream, Sasuke approaching from his left and... that was definitely Shikamaru at the edges of training ground five, and further away he could even sense the rest of his team; all possessing painfully familiar chakra signatures. One was cool, carefully compressed, flickering and swirling almost chaotically in the way only wind natured ones could: Asuma. Beside him sat a tamer signature, warm and calm like a stream of heated water yet to become the raging inferno Naruto would get acquainted with in the war: that was Chouji. And finally, standing farthest away from everyone, was the last signature. A constant, measured stream of fluid chakra, moving about with the calm of someone almost as attuned to nature as he, almost blending with its surroundings, never disturbing, simply sharing.

Sensing her was like taking a violent fist to the gut and he immediately dropped his chakra web, unable to handle the emotional pain that accompanied the knowledge of knowing she was there but out of reach. Probably so different from the woman he knew in the future; the woman he swore he'd protect for the rest of his life but ultimately failed, like he failed everyone else.

Just then, Sasuke stalked into view, hands in his pockets and eyes fixed resolutely away. It tore his attention away from Team Ten, which he was thankful for.

Naruto's eyebrow steadily climbed up as he watched Sakura jump and skip towards the Uchiha, rambling at a hundred miles per hour. Naruto couldn't help it, he snorted. He almost forgot how much of a fangirl Sakura was, and why shouldn't he when the woman he knew in the future was the farthest away from that; a capable, terrifying kunoichi, dubbed as the strongest woman in the world.

A flicker of familiar, crackling chakra materialised in a tree just at the edge of the clearing and it took every ounce of Naruto's will not to turn in its direction. In his head he was already shouting. _Sneaky, lazy, freeloading bastard! Did he really always show up on time but hide away for hours?_

He considered how much trouble —not to mention, unwanted attention— it would get him in were he to give into the urge to fling a kunai in his sensei's direction, and realised it wouldn't be worth the hell that would eventually follow. Kakashi was a firm believer in payback. Nasty payback. Karma-is-a-royal-bitch kind of payback. Being the victim of said payback a few times taught him an unforgettable lesson. And, hell, that brought up even more nostalgic memories to forefront of Naruto's mind. But that wasn't the main reason Naruto wasn't forcing Kakashi into the open— Naruto was worried about the kind of suspicions that action would no doubt provoke.

While he continued contemplating the next few hours of his existence and cussing out Kakashi's, Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the spot next to him and settled down.

It was ridiculous that the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a wave of goosebumps breaking across his skin as he sensed their familiar chakra at his back. It was almost like the old days, before the war. They used to fight back to back, their presence familiar and comforting, guarding him.

Now a candle of that all-consuming comfort presented itself, teasing his senses and making his gut clench painfully. Oh, yeah, today was going to be both the worst and the best day of his life. Best because he was gaining back something he thought he'd forever lost and worst because he had no idea how to go about it or act around his team.

 _Why the hell is sensei stuck in a tree?_ Naruto thought sourly. It wasn't exactly Kakashi's fault Naruto's emotions were volatile and all over the place today but getting things over with would be much appreciated, thank you very much.

Naruto then arrived at a conclusion that would probably get him in trouble with Shikamaru but hell, his team had to eventually get used to his advanced reflexes. He couldn't protect them in real fights if he was stuck acting like an ignoramus. And so having made up his mind —well, half-made up his mind because a part of him, probably the sane part, was protesting very loudly against his decision— he retrieved a kunai from his pouch and with a quick, elegant swish of his wrist, shot it in Kakashi's direction. He aimed for the silver-head's leaf insignia, just in case his attack actually met its target. He had no intentions of harming Kakashi, especially when he had another chance to save him.

The sharp sound of kunai whizzing through the air and hitting rough bark echoed, getting both his teammate's attention, just in time to witness their team leader drop from the targeted tree.

Silence filled the clearing for the whole of three second before Naruto sneered, "How long were you planning on hiding in that tree, Kakashi-sensei?"

Sasuke's jaw actually dropped, and both Sakura's and Kakashi's eyes widened, the latter less noticeably.

"How did you know?" Kakashi's voice was composed but the surprise in his lone charcoal eye was as clear as day.

Naruto feigned ignorance. "I saw a flash of silver."

Clearly, Kakashi didn't buy his lame excuse but it wasn't as if the silver-head could dispute him either way.

"Sensei, you're on time!" Sakura cried in shock, probably having missed the implication of Naruto's thrown kunai. Or hadn't seen it. That was unsettlingly worrying— he really ought to help his teammates enhance their senses and become more attuned to their surroundings. It'd be miserable if one of them got injured now because they didn't know an enemy was in range.

While his mind ran at a million miles trying to concoct a training regime that would suit each of their abilities and help them grow into the adults he knew and loved, Kakashi-sensei made his way towards them, eye still fixed on him. There was more wonder than suspicion in his gaze, which made Naruto nearly flinch from the memories it stirred.

"Alright team, let's get started since everyone is here. Today we'll work on a few basic exercises," Kakashi drawled, "including target shooting with a myriad of weapons. So suit up." The stuffed bag on his shoulder hit the grass with a soft thud and clinking sounds could be heard as a result.

Kakashi made a quick work of setting up multiple targets as Team Seven investigated the weapons in the well-worn bag on the ground. There was the standard kunai, shuriken and demon shuriken. And more complex weapons like senbon and a bow with arrows.

"Kakashi, why do you have kitchen knives in here?" Sasuke said rather rudely, but that was custom Sasuke-speech, so Kakashi didn't even bother batting an eyelash.

"That's because we'll be learning how to use them in combat. You never know when and where you might be attacked— it'd be a pity if you were killed because you didn't know how to throw a kitchen knife with the same accuracy as kunai," Kakashi explained and lifted a butcher's knife out of the bag.

He twirled it around idly between nimble fingers, eyes fixed on Sasuke. "They're lighter, blunter, and not as flexible as a kunai."

Kakashi turned towards one of the posts he previously set and flung the weapon in his hand with deadly accuracy and speed. The knife made a sharp thunking noise as it embedded a quarter way into the wood. "I put the same force in it as I would a kunai but, as you can see, the result is wildly different. With a knife, you have to throw harder to achieve the same results as with standard ninja weapons."

Had Naruto already changed the past? The blond was slightly panicking on the inside as his teacher droned on about the difference between the two weapons— he had barely arrived two day ago! How could it be that new events were already taking place? Kakashi never did this exercise with them before— Naruto knew how to throw with kitchen knives, obviously, but that was mainly because, once upon a time, Jiraiya insisted Naruto knew his way around the kitchen and was extra annoying about it. So Naruto took to throwing knives at him whenever he got extra irritating with his complaints about being hungry and to 'get done already'.

Now Naruto wondered, with thinly-concealed dread, what had possessed Kakashi to pick this particular exercise. Not only did it bring back heartbreaking memories, but it was also about to test his ability to tone down his strengths to acceptable genin-levels.

"Alright everyone, grab yourself a knife so we could get started."

Sasuke was still staring at Kakashi like he had grown a second head when the Uchiha wasn't looking and Sakura was looking at the knife in Naruto's hand with obvious trepidation.

Naruto weighed the knife in his hold, fingers tracing the handle and poking the sharp tip experimentally—it was light, and clearly quite neglected as the sharp tip failed to produce even the faintest blemish across Naruto's skin.

It looked like it couldn't cut a cucumber, let alone pierce wood, but he had the extra strength it would take, so he wasn't too worried. It was Sasuke and Sakura he wondered about— he didn't think they would be able to use these without utterly humiliating themselves. Sasuke would get extra cocky and Sakura extra discouraged, and Naruto would be left to watch the hidden sadistic smile that would no doubt spread across his sensei's face.

When Naruto was a genin, he had an average aim for a ninja of his status. He hit most of his targets in the tightest ring and some dead-centre. But as he grew older, wiser— more dangerous— his aim, too, improved. He had to adapt it to his rapidly increasing speed and so Naruto had learned to throw lightning quick, and as hard as he could without throwing himself off balance. The result, in Shikamaru's opinion, was terrifying. And that was the objective: a swift, calculated kill that left his enemy on the ground sooner than he could blink.

Now... Naruto waved the knife back and forth, testing the way it cut through the air and the feel of it in the palm of his hand… were he to hit the target, his team would think he got lucky. Were he to miserably fail, they'd label it as custom Naruto 'dumbness'. He wasn't sure which was worse.

The blond let out a barely audible breath and with it let the tension seep out of his body. And then he aimed and fired, withholding as much of his powers as possible. The outcome was the knife embedding deep in the post anyway.

Silence filled the clearing, and then, "That looks easy," Sasuke sneered, finally deciding to participate in the training he had previously thought lame.

The blond visibly winced as Sasuke's knife hit the second outmost ring with just enough force for the tip to stick in for several seconds before the wood gave and the knife fell uselessly onto the ground, leaving two stunned genin and one snickering jounin to gawk at what just transpired.

"That looks easy," Kakashi mimicked, adding insult to injury. "Again, Sasuke. Until you get it right."

And, much to Naruto's chagrin, Kakashi turned to him next. "Was that a lucky shot or do you know your way around a knife?"

Oh, he knew his way around a knife _alright_. He did terrifying things with knives everyday— once, an enemy ninja managed to sneak up on him while cooking and the blond kindly carved his eyes out. His appetite was entirely gone afterwards.

He answered Kakashi with as much honesty as he could without giving away his true identity. "When I was a kid…" he trailed off, realised he was a kid in this body. "Younger," he quickly amended, "I used to use knives to protect myself against the villagers that attacked me. I couldn't afford kunai."

It was true, and not something he'd ever admitted to any of his teammates. Although not the main reason he knew how to use knives as a weapon, Kakashi seemed to buy it.

There was a hint of that thinly-concealed crippling guilt swimming in his charcoal orbs, but Naruto had long since learned how to read Kakashi. The silver-head gave a nod and moved to coach Sakura through the exercise, leaving Naruto to his own devices.

He wondered how much his recent actions had changed the past already, but he decided not to dwell on it too much. They were here to do exactly that: change the past that lead to their messed-up futures. Naruto just hoped he hadn't produced any massive ripples yet.

* * *

Naruto's foot was tapping out an impatient rhythm on the ground as he waited for Shikamaru to leave training ground Five. Having been dismissed by Kakashi, Naruto found himself taking the closest route to Shikamaru's location and the blond could only reluctantly admit to himself that he was having a mild case of separation anxiety.

Throughout the training with Team Seven, Naruto's mind kept wandering over to his friend, especially when suddenly his vision seemed to magically split, like he was looking at two different scenes at the same time. He had been so surprised he completely missed his target as he was awarded with the sight of a twelve-year-old Ino charging at him with a kunai.

Having fallen back in shock, Naruto could only stare dumbly at the post in front of him, his vision returning to normal after a few seconds. Somewhere in the background, Sakura was trying very hard to smother her laughter but Kakashi didn't put forth the same effort for the chuckles bursting through his lips reached Naruto loud and clear.

Naruto had a suspicion he just experienced what Shikamaru was talking about upon saving him in the alley yesterday and decided they needed to talk about it later.

Just then, Shikamaru emerged from the thicker forest, a little cut bisecting the arch of his brow and a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead. Their eyes met and Naruto saw the faintest flicker of hesitation before the Nara moved past him and behind him exited the rest of Team Ten.

A wave of panic swept through the blond at the sight of the two brunettes and the blonde, and he felt his heart drop to reside somewhere at his feet. He wasn't ready— wasn't prepared to face them, at all.

"Yo," Chouji said with a friendly wave that was nearly painful to look at— how did Shikamaru even survive that training?

Team Seven had never been friendly with Naruto at this age, so it was possible to ignore them, to pretend they weren't the same people. But Team Ten… Team Ten had always been everything Shikamaru had. It must've been hell.

Just then, he felt a firm hand clasp his shoulder and steady him. His knees felt like jelly so Naruto was grateful for Shikamaru's hold on him. The Nara gave him a brief look but it held a silent warning to get it together. "Guys, this is Naruto, my friend. Naruto these are Ino, Chouji and Asuma-sensei."

Naruto had known them from the academy, of course, but they had never been formally introduced.

"Yo," Chouji said again. Asuma nodded in acknowledgment, eyes discreetly assessing the blond and noting he looked slightly shaken.

"Hello," Ino chimed, flicking her hair over her shoulder in an overly familiar gesture.

Naruto quickly looked away and back at Shikamaru. "Um," he said, eyes fixed at the Nara as he responded, "nice to finally meet you guys."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes but Naruto saw the concern there anyway. "We're getting Yakiniku," the Nara informed him, eyebrow twisting imperceptibly in a slight question: _do you want to join us?_

"You should join us, Naruto-kun," Chouji chirped, friendly as always and eager to befriend any person Shikamaru considered a friend. Besides, the blond looked pretty pale, features ashen, and what's better than food to fix that?

Naruto swallowed thickly as he considered the offer. It would be easy —preferable, even— if he refused. He could go home then instead of sitting at a table with previously dead loved ones, holding a conversation like he wasn't on the verge of having a panic attack. He wasn't sure how much he could handle in one day and he didn't want to push it.

But… he also wanted to get over this dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach as soon as possible. And he didn't feel quite comfortable with parting with Shikamaru just yet. In fact, at that very moment, the thought of parting with Shikamaru made him even more anxious.

"Sure, I guess," Naruto finally shrugged, noting the thinly-concealed worry in Shikamaru's brown orbs. "I'm hungry."

"It's settled then," Chouji cheered and skipped ahead of them, leaving the group no choice but to follow, albeit at a more sedated pace.

Ino took the lead with at Asuma the rear, leaving Shikamaru and Naruto stuck in the middle.

"How did training go?" Shikamaru asked idly, without giving away much.

Naruto considered the question. "Alright… Sasuke made a fool out of himself."

Shikamaru snorted. "Got cocky, didn't he?"

"Just slightly." Naruto held up his thumb and index close together to indicate how slight, although he was trying to suppress a smile.

The Nara shook his head ruefully, a smile on his face. "I'm sure as hell glad no one on my team is that stuck up."

That earned Shikamaru a slight elbow in the ribs. "He won't always be like this."

"Aha," Shikamaru hummed noncommittally. "Sure."

Naruto huffed out another laugh. "Salty."

"Just like your tears when I choke you with my shadows."

"That sounded… really… _really_ wrong."

* * *

"I'll have two of everything on the menu please!" Chouji beamed at their waitress, who was looking at him with a mixture of disgust and fascination. Asuma groaned, Ino sighed and Shikamaru smiled wistfully.

"And for you…?" The brunette turned to Asuma-sensei, jotting down an order after another until her eyes landed on Naruto and suddenly her whole face shifted to a colder, more stony demeanour compared to the warm smiles she had given everyone else.

"And what will it be for you?" she grit out. "I'd recommend our main course, it's to die for."

Naruto held her dark gaze unflinchingly, even when he felt Shikamaru stiffen beside him. "I'll stick with miso-soup, thank you."

The woman bared her teeth in an ugly smile and left.

Silence descended on the table like a physical weight. Chouji and Ino looked confused and appalled by the waitress' rude behaviour and Asuma looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Naruto hated that he caused this sudden lapse in conversation by merely being present and seriously contemplated leaving the table altogether, but he had a feeling that would make things more awkward.

The same waitress returned with drinks, pointedly avoiding Naruto's gaze as she handed everyone a glass of lemonade. And then she looked at the blond, gaze challenging, venomous, just as her hand slipped while reaching to hand Naruto his glass. Lemonade splashed all over his lap and he nearly jumped out of his skin, his fight or flee response kicking in forcefully.

He barely held himself in place. His fingers ached with the need to reach for a kunai, his shoulders tensed and his eyes slid slowly from the lemonade on his lap to the brunette whose eyes were glinting with barely concealed triumph.

"Sorry," she said, dryly. "My hand slipped."

And then she was gone for the second time and Shikamaru was gritting his teeth so hard his jaw popped. His palm smacked on the table with enough force and salt and pepper shakers bounced an inch off the table and both Chouji and Ino jumped slightly at the sudden wave of chilliness that swept through the small space.

The Nara rose slowly, calmly —such a big contrast to his previous action— and let out a measured exhale. "Excuse me."

He turned around and walked away with a terrifying single-minded ferocity, fists balled by his side, his stance basically screaming _stay out of my way_. A waiter dove out of the way as the Nara stalked by, letting out a startled yelp and a little girl let out a frightened 'eep!' and rushed to her mother's arms.

The Nara disappeared behind the kitchen's double doors with the 'only staff' sign and the whole room seemed to collectively hold its breath.

" _Hey, you can't be—!_ " a shout echoed, only to be abruptly cut off and a violent chill swept through the place, causing goosebumps to ripple along Team 10's arms.

Asuma froze. Was that… was that Shikamaru? Since when was his student capable of emitting such cold, ugly killing intent?

The room was so silent a pin dropping could be heard across the space. A young, very dangerous and very sinister voice was saying, "—and if I ever — _ever_ — see something like this again, I'll make sure you never set foot in another restaurant for as long as you live. Am I making myself clear?"

A whimper echoed.

Ino turned wide startled eyes on Chouji, who was gaping, his jaw almost hitting the table-top.

Shikamaru walked back out, his shoulders returned to their usual slouched pose and his palm covering his mouth as he yawned. He eased himself back into the space next to Naruto and stretched with a quiet groan. And then he carried on with the conversation like nothing out of the ordinary just occurred. "You never finished answering my earlier question. How'd training go?"

The sudden change —that sudden shift from _ninja_ to friendly— made Team 10's hair stand on end again. Naruto was used to this of course. This cold dose of fear was barely a fraction of the menace Shikamaru had become capable of. During the war, and especially after Chouji's death, he had been able to freeze small battalions of hardened shinobi by one burst of concentrated killing intent and a glare. Lesser men would shake and beg for mercy as the Nara's shadows began to cover every square inch on the immediate vicinity like some horrific nightmare, slithering towards them inch by precious inch, building up their fears to their maximum capacity before strangling them.

Shikamaru hadn't always been keen on drawing out an enemy's death, but war and death had made him ruthless. It was hard to show compassion towards those who stripped you of your home, friends and family.

Naruto sighed and went along with that conversation opener his friend presented. "It kinda sucked. I mean it was fine up till the part where we started on the bow and arrow exercise. Sakura had been so jumpy she hit Sasuke in the ass… well, you could probably imagine how that went."

A horrified gasp echoed from the blonde across the table while his three other companions sniggered. The previous occurrence lay forgotten as everyone chimed in with embarrassing past stories. The food arrived very promptly, by a different waitress this time around, who made sure to apologise profusely from her coworker's uncouth behaviour before dashing back to the kitchen, never to be seen again.

"Aaah!" Ino groaned, stretching her arms up over her head once out of the restaurant. "I'm full."

Shikamaru nodded and yawned. "I could use a nap." _A lie,_ because Shikamaru struggled with sleep as much as Naruto these days, but the blond recognised the tactic. It was time to say their goodbyes.

While Ino grumbled about what as lazy-ass her teammate was, goodbyes were exchanged, and Naruto bowed his head at Team 10. "Thank you for the lunch."

The comment seemed to surprise all three of his companions, excluding Shikamaru.

"It was nice to get to know you. I'll see you around. Goodnight."

That was horribly polite of him, he knew, but the sooner he changed everyone's view of him, the better. He really wasn't that big of a social idiot anymore. It would make him cringe to no end if he had to treat everyone in the same brash way his twelve-year-old self used to.

God knows dating Ino had beat that out of him forcefully… and painfully. Very painfully. The blonde had a very mean right hook, no one could argue with that.

He let out a sigh as he rolled the tension out of his shoulders, Shikamaru falling into step with him. "Well?"

"Well…?" Naruto echoed, his eyebrow arching questioningly.

"How do you feel?" the Nara asked with just a hint of well-hidden concern.

 _Ah._

The blond let out a measured sigh, slouching slightly and shook his head. "Like I imagine babies feel when dropped on their head, I guess."

Shikamaru snorted, allowing for the touch of humour to trample on the serious mood and successfully dispel it. "You're an idiot."

A rough elbow found purchase in his side but the blond was grinning as they walked down the familiar narrow roads of their home, even when he received nasty glares from the villagers the moment they laid eyes on him.

 _Troublesome._ Shikamaru made a point to send a heated glare in their direction. The victim of each glare would blanch and scurry away.

"Alright now stop handing out collective heart attacks," Naruto said good-naturedly. "You're scaring the children with all the killing intent."

The Nara sighed, but stopped. "Whatever."

"Do you want to stay over at mine today?" Naruto carried on, shoving his hands in his pockets to hide their minute restlessness.

Shikamaru immediately recognised the underlying anxiety in the blond's voice. "Sure. Can I stop by the Nara estate first though? I kinda have to let my mother know."

Naruto nodded. "Sure. And then we can plan something concrete tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." Shikamaru sighed, digging his fingers in the sore muscles of his shoulders. "God knows I can't sleep at night anyway."

* * *

 **Note: the reason behind my strange pairing of Naruto and Ino is because I wanted to avoid drama. There won't be much about them, this pairing is there simply to add to the emotional depth of the story.**

 **Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, they never fail to brighten my day.**


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